The fix for this is so simple it is trivial - and I'm sure a lawsuit or two will lead to it.

Simply have a master contactor that requires a minimum pack voltage to close, and shut off all power to all systems if voltage drops below that minimum. Then require a service call to recharge the battery, or create some bypass mechanism that only allows charging but not power use until the situation is resolved..

They aren't getting it. It's not up to the consumers to change THEIR behavior to prevent catastrophe; it's up to the manufacturer to insure that simple negligence is not catastrophic. Building a car that let's the battery go to 100% DOD is asinine with the current battery chemistry.

Batteries will discharge just sitting on the shelf with no load. BMS will also place a small load on the pack, not really feasible to disconnect BMS. Just disconnecting the pack is not the simple solution you think it is.

I think if someone parks their car at 50% SOC and leaves it unplugged for 1 year, that's about all you can protect for in my opinion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhantomPholly

The fix for this is so simple it is trivial - and I'm sure a lawsuit or two will lead to it.

Simply have a master contactor that requires a minimum pack voltage to close, and shut off all power to all systems if voltage drops below that minimum. Then require a service call to recharge the battery, or create some bypass mechanism that only allows charging but not power use until the situation is resolved..

Batteries will discharge just sitting on the shelf with no load. BMS will also place a small load on the pack, not really feasible to disconnect BMS. Just disconnecting the pack is not the simple solution you think it is.

I think if someone parks their car at 50% SOC and leaves it unplugged for 1 year, that's about all you can protect for in my opinion.

Yes, but 1 year is quite a bit more than 2 months.

Too, I thought that LiIon did not self-discharge nearly as quickly as older rechargeable technologies?

These cars should probably all be "smart" enough to "phone home" if their batteries are dying. Putting a pre-paid cellphone in the car which texts both the owner of record and the manufacturer in such contingencies would be a small price to pay for "insurance." Simple solutions exist; manufacturers excuses are no reason not to recognize a severe vulnerability in the technology.

And from Roadster 2.0 and beyond, your Tesla can even let us know it needs your attention. If that happens, we simply contact you and suggest you charge your car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhantomPholly

Y

These cars should probably all be "smart" enough to "phone home" if their batteries are dying. Putting a pre-paid cellphone in the car which texts both the owner of record and the manufacturer in such contingencies would be a small price to pay for "insurance." Simple solutions exist; manufacturers excuses are no reason not to recognize a severe vulnerability in the technology.

And from Roadster 2.0 and beyond, your Tesla can even let us know it needs your attention. If that happens, we simply contact you and suggest you charge your car.

I'm speaking of a company responsibility to retrofit existing vehicles, not about the fact that they finally woke up to the fact that their design was flawed. Again, in light of the potential litigation such a sensible and inexpensive solution would cost them pennies on the dollar.

Tesla do have instructions on how to deal with long term storage in their owner's manual. It is on pages 5-2 and 5-3.

Although, I don't believe Tesla is at fault with the 'bricking' issue (as they do document clearly in their owner's manual), I do believe that Tesla should increase awareness with their customers on how to care for their car and batteries. There is a lot of confusion about batteries. For example, with certain chemistries, you have to worry about memory effects, whilst with others, you should plug them in at every opportunity. This is enough to confuse a lot of people.

This awareness could come in various forms like

customer days;

videos;

club events;

newsletters;

car care tips bulletins to customers.

These awareness campaigns also helps with customer bonding and helps prevent bad publicity.

I would even go as far as raising this awareness in the brochures so that prospective customers can plan things in advance and cater for that the fact that they may have to have their car plugged, even when in long term storage.